Department for Transport

Railways: Freight

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their target for the (1) number, and (2) percentage, of container loads and miles that will be moved from road to rail (a) within the next five years, and (b) on the opening of stage 1 of HS2.

baroness vere of norbiton: Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of rail freight; the sector plays an essential part of the UK economy and rail is one of the greenest modes of transport. Rail freight removes around 7 million lorry journeys, equating to roughly 1.5 billion lorry kilometres, annually. Government does not set an explicit target for modal shift from road to rail. However, it takes significant steps to support modal shift, including in relation to container traffic. This includes providing freight grant schemes to support the carriage of freight by rail and water on routes where road haulage has a financial advantage. These schemes help to remove around 900,000 lorry journeys a year from Britain’s roads. Overall, funding for this scheme has been increased to £20m for 2020/21, a rise of 28% from 2019/20. Government has also invested over £235m in the Strategic Freight Network between 2014-2019 to improve network capacity to enable more goods to move by rail. The Government is currently carrying out a detailed study of the potential for additional freight movement that could be accommodated on the conventional rail network from released capacity due to HS2. This study will be concluded by the end of March 2020. It will provide a quantification of the potential additional freight tonnes that could be moved from roads, and will also quantify the environmental benefits of this mode shift.

Railways: Greater London

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to place further rail services under the control of Transport for London.

baroness vere of norbiton: The Department carefully considers business cases from scheme promoters on a regular basis. At this stage no decision to devolve services has been taken, and while we are exploring devolution of services to Transport for London we would only do this if it was in the best interests of all passengers.

Aviation: Safety

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 10 February (HL Deb, col 2066), which organisations have been asked to contribute to their review of the safety of general aviation; and whether that includes the Air Charter Association.

baroness vere of norbiton: The organisations engaged with as part of the General Aviation safety review are listed below. The independent general aviation safety review, funded by the Department for Transport, is focused on non-commercial aviation, often referred to as recreational aviation. The Air Charter Association is rightly concerned with illegal public transport activity and is engaging with the Civil Aviation Authority on the matter. Given their commercial focus they were not included in the consultation for this non-commercial aviation safety review; noting that illegal commercial activity does not fall within the direct scope of the review. Within the context of the recreational aviation review, the Air Charter Association may wish to submit a response to the forthcoming consultation on the recommendations of the review. The UK Approach to Recreational General Aviation Safety review engaged with the following organisations: GA Partnership – A CAA-led group of industry, regulator and government.GASCo - General Aviation Safety CouncilPPL IR EuropeBGA - British Gliding AssociationAOPA - Aircraft Owners and Pilots AssociationBMAA - British Microlight Aircraft AssociationLAA - Light Aircraft AssociationGAA - General Aviation AllianceEASA - European Aviation Safety AgencyEASA GA Task Force Member (EAS)GAAC - General Aviation Awareness CouncilUKAB - United Kingdom Airprox BoardAAIB - Air Accidents Investigation BranchGBASF - General and Business Aviation Strategic ForumAOG - Airfield Operators GroupGA AdvocateBAAC - British Balloon and airship clubUKFSC - UK Flight Safety CommitteeCHIRP - Aviation and Maritime Confidential Incident Reporting

Aviation: Safety

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 10 February (HL Deb, col 2066), whether they are considering the rules around cost sharing as part of their review of the safety of general aviation.

baroness vere of norbiton: The independent general aviation safety review, funded by the Department for Transport, is focused on non-commercial aviation, often referred to as recreational aviation. Cost sharing is considered in terms of setting out the rules and benefits of a properly conducted cost sharing flight which should support private pilots to ensure they do not inadvertently step beyond the rules. The review “UK Approach to Recreational General Aviation Safety: An Independent Review” will be published shortly as part of a wider consultation process on the review.

Motor Vehicles: Hydrogen

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invest in the development of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure to encourage the adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

baroness vere of norbiton: Government is supporting development of the infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), recognising that the market is at an early stage. Government’s £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme aims to increase the uptake of FCEVs and grow the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. The programme is delivering nine new refuelling stations, upgrading five existing stations and deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles across the UK.

Leader of the House of Lords

UK Relations with EU

baroness hayter of kentish town: To ask the Leader of the House which minister in the House of Lords will answer questions on the UK’s negotiations with the EU on the future relationship.

baroness evans of bowes park: In his capacity as Minister of State in the Cabinet Office, Lord True will answer questions, and repeat statements, in the House of Lords on the UK's negotiations with the EU on the future relationship.

UK Relations with EU

baroness hayter of kentish town: To ask the Leader of the House which minister will answer questions in the House of Lords on the work of the Joint Committee overseeing the withdrawal agreement with the EU.

baroness evans of bowes park: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has overall responsibility to Parliament for the Joint Committee, therefore Lord True will answer questions and repeat statements in the House of Lords.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Accountancy: Regulation

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the regulation of the accounting profession.

lord callanan: The Government is committed to acting on the findings of the three independent reviews of audit: the FRC review, the CMA review and the Brydon review, covering respectively the regulator, the market and the audit product itself. We will set out comprehensive proposals for audit reform in the Spring and will then bring forward legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Comet Group: Insolvency

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) report by the Institute of Accountants in England and Wales into the insolvency of Comet Group and the losses sustained by HMRC, published on 31 January, and (2) implications, if any, for the (a) collapse of Monarch Airline, and (b) request for governmental financial support from Flybe and its immediate and ultimate owners.

lord callanan: The Government is aware of the findings of the investigation by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) into the conduct of the administrators of Comet Group Limited and the resulting consent order setting out the disciplinary action taken. The Government supports the aims of the regulatory framework for insolvency practitioners and the Government’s Insolvency Service works closely with the Recognised Professional Bodies, such as the ICAEW, in ensuring appropriate action is taken when needed following an insolvency. Regarding Flybe, it would not be appropriate for Government to comment on the speculation as to its financial affairs.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Qassem Soleimani

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 January (HL142), when they were first notified that the government of the United States had made a decision to use lethal force against General Soleimani.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 21 January 2019, PQ HL142:We became aware of the operation as it happened. We do not comment on our allies' operational decisions.

Ministers: Languages

baroness smith of gilmorehill: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Agnew of Oulton on 11 July 2019 (HL17122), what measures they are considering to promote the take up of foreign language courses available to Government ministers.

baroness sugg: We are not considering any particular measures to promote language training to Government Ministers but ministers can apply for Foreign and Commonwealth Office language training if they need, in order to conduct government business.

Foreign Relations

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they define their Global Britain policy concept.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Global Britain is this Government's vision for renewing the way in which we engage on the global stage. Leaving the EU is an opportunity for us to show what Global Britain means: A new relationship with our EU and other partners; striking trade deals with new markets, reasserting ourselves as a liberal and free trading nation; and acting with strong moral anchors, as a force for good in the world.We want Global Britain to lead by example. Our hosting of COP26 in Glasgow demonstrates exactly this: Global Britain leading on the international stage to galvanise worldwide efforts to tackle climate change.

Foreign Relations

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government which Government departments are working on their Global Britain policy.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Global Britain is this Government's vision for reassessing the way in which we engage on the global stage. The Government is undertaking a thorough review of the UK's place in the world through the Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review. This will be a whole of government exercise and will ensure we have a fully integrated strategy in our approach to defence, diplomacy and development.

BBC World Service

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the BBC’s World Service as an example of theUK'ssoft power; and what consideration they have given toproviding future direct Government funding of the World Service.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office strongly supports the BBC's mission to bring high quality and impartial news to global audiences, including where free speech is limited. As part of this, the BBC World Service brings the UK to the world, providing a link to the UK for people and communities who wouldn't otherwise have this opportunity. This is invaluable for our soft power and influence at an important time.The British Government is investing £377m during 2016-2021 to support the BBC World Service through the World 2020 Programme, which has expanded the BBC World Service's digital, TV and audio offering. In 2019, this helped the BBC reach a global audience of 426 million people weekly (of which World Service constitutes 319m); a 50m increase on the previous year. Future funding for the Service will be determined at SR20.

Ministry of Justice

Sobriety Orders

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the voluntary sector about how they might assist with the roll-out of the alcohol, abstinence and monitoring requirement across England and Wales.

lord keen of elie: The legislation required to introduce alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirements in England and Wales is still subject to approval by Parliament. As yet, we have not had any discussions with the voluntary sector about how it could assist. More widely, we are engaged in ongoing dialogue with the voluntary sector around support for offenders with addiction issues.

Family Proceedings

baroness penn: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the results of their consultation Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases, which closed on 27 August 2019; whether they intend to publish any provisional findings of the panel appointed to conduct the consultation; and if so, when.

lord keen of elie: The panel assessing the risk of harm to children and parents in private law cases has been meeting regularly to discuss the wealth of evidence collected from 1,200 individuals and organisations, and is in the process of finalising its report. It is right that it takes the time to analyse this data and to consider the recommendations for how the family courts can be reformed to improve the experiences of victims of harm. A full report outlining the findings and recommended next steps will be published this spring. The Government will publish a response at the same time setting out the steps we will take to reform the family courts. After the panel completed the call for evidence in Autumn 2019, the Ministry of Justice published a Progress Update on 23 October. The Progress Update included provisional findings from the panel. This has been attached and can also be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/assessing-risk-of-harm-to-children-and-parents-in-private-law-children-cases.

Domestic Abuse

baroness penn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what further consideration they have given to the recommendation of the report by the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill, Draft Domestic Abuse Bill (HL Paper 378, session 2017–19), published on 14 June 2019, to extend the range of evidence accepted for the automatic prohibition of cross-examination by perpetrators of domestic abuse; and whether that recommendation will be reflected in the forthcoming Domestic Abuse Bill.

lord keen of elie: We indicated in our initial response to the Joint Committee’s report, published in July 2019, that we would publish a further response in due course addressing around ten recommendations where we needed more time to fully consider the Committee’s proposals. This included their recommendation in respect of the scope of the automatic prohibition on cross-examination in person in family proceedings. We aim to publish that further response alongside the Domestic Abuse Bill. As the Leader of the House of Commons has indicated (Official Report, House of Commons, 23 January 2020, column 423), we expect to re-introduce the Bill ahead of the Easter recess.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Building Regulations

lord smith of finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include measures to promote water sustainability and re-use in building regulations for the construction of new properties.

baroness bloomfield of hinton waldrist: The Building Regulations 2010 Parts G & H include requirements relating to water efficiency and grey water harvesting. For new homes, statutory guidance for Part G of the Building Regulations includes a minimum standard for estimated water consumption set at 125 litres per person per day, and an optional standard of 110 litres per person per day, which may be adopted in water stressed areas at the discretion of the local planning authority.In 2019, Government launched a consultation ( https://consult.defra.gov.uk/water/measures-to-reduce-personal-water-use/supporting_documents/Consultation%20on%20reducing%20personal%20water%20use%20FINAL.pdf ) on measures to reduce personal water use. The consultation considers whether the current minimum standard and the optional standard set through the Building Regulations should be changed. The consultation is now closed and the Government will respond in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fly-tipping: Prosecutions

the earl of shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the number of prosecutions for fly tipping by local authorities in each of the last five years; and what has been the success rate of any such prosecutions.

lord goldsmith of richmond park: The total number of prosecutions for fly-tipping offences by local authorities in England, as well as the proportion that were successful, over the last five years are shown in the table below.  YearTotal number of prosecutionsNumber of successful prosecutions% of successful prosecutions2014/151,8101,77197.8%2015/162,2032,09194.9%2016/171,5711,54698.4%2017/182,2432,18697.5%2018/192,3972,30696.2%  This information is published as part of the annual Fly-tipping Statistics for England, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england

Non-native Species

lord teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish a dedicated inspectorate for invasive non-native species; and if so, when.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government is carefully considering the case for an invasive non-native species (INNS) inspectorate and the functions that it might carry out.The Government will look to determine if a separate inspectorate is required based on an assessment of costs, benefits and practicalities. The Government will also assess whether existing inspectorates might be extended in scope to carry out INNS related functions.

Non-native Species

lord teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish action plans for those pathways identified as priorities in their Comprehensive analysis of pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species, published in May 2019.

lord gardiner of kimble: The development of Pathway Action Plans (PAPs) requires detailed consideration, involving extensive engagement with stakeholders to understand the pathways, to identify the key risks and to understand how they can best be mitigated.To date the Government has completed one PAP on zoos and aquaria and a further two will be completed later this year covering recreational boating, which is relevant to hull fouling, and angling, which is relevant to stowaways on fishing equipment. Work is beginning imminently on two other PAPs, for horticultural escapes and contaminants of horticultural plants, and Defra is expecting to complete all the PAPs by the end of 2022.

Non-native Species

lord teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the funding they provide for tackling invasive non-native species.

lord gardiner of kimble: Decisions on public funding for the environment will be taken as part of the next multi-year Spending Review when priorities can be looked at strategically across Government.

Home Office

Emergency Services

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring all blue light services under the remit of Police and Crime Commissioners.

baroness williams of trafford: The locally enabling provisions within the Policing and Crime Act 2017 allow Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take on fire and rescue governance, where a local case is made.Four PCCs have so far taken on responsibility for fire governance.There are currently no plans to give PCCs responsibility for further blue light services.

Domestic Abuse

baroness penn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the further actions they committed to in their response to the report by the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill have been completed; and if they have not been completed, whether those actions will be completed in time to be reflected in the forthcoming budget.

baroness williams of trafford: We indicated in our initial response to the Joint Committee’s report, published in July 2019, that we would publish a further response in due course addressing around ten recommendations where we needed more time to fully consider the Committee’s proposals. We aim to publish that further response alongside the Domestic Abuse Bill.We will also publish an updated impact assessment alongside the Bill. As the Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability indicated at Second Reading of the Bill in the last Parliament (Official Report, House of Commons, 2 October 2019, column 1331), we will prioritise the funding for the Bill in the 2020 Spending Review.

Police: Biometrics

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many images have been uploaded onto the Police National Database since 2017.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many images have been deleted from the PoliceNational Database since 2017.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total number of images stored on the Police National Database.

baroness williams of trafford: Between 01 January 2017 and 14 February 2020, 5.3 million images have been uploaded to the Police National Database (PND).Information on the number of images deleted from the PND since 2017 is not retrievable centrally.As at 14 February 2020 the total number of images stored on the PND is 20.9 million. This figure includes duplicates, images of marks, scars, tattoos and some low quality images. Not all of these are visible to or searchable by users.

Treasury

Infrastructure: North of England

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of Government infrastructure spendingwasspent in the North of England between 2015and 2020; and what is their target for the proportion that will be spentin the North of England between 2020 and 2025.

lord agnew of oulton: The Government is committed to levelling up and spreading opportunity to all region and nations in the UK. This includes a £5bn package of investment for buses and cycling and a consultation on Freeports. We have confirmed that we will proceed with HS2 to deliver essential North-South connectivity, greater capacity, and shorter journey times. This will build on £13bn of investment in transport in the North - more than ever before by government, including £3bn investment to improve strategic roads across the region.

Tax Evasion

lord mccrea of magherafelt and cookstown: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to investigate and address tax evasion.

lord agnew of oulton: The Government is committed to tackling tax evasion at all levels. The Government has introduced over 100 measures to tackle tax evasion, avoidance and other forms of non-compliance since 2010. Together with HMRC’s compliance work, the government has secured and protected an additional £200 billion in tax revenue which would otherwise have gone unpaid.This success demonstrates the Government’s continued efforts to address tax evasion, avoidance and non-compliance in all its forms.HM Revenue and Customs strategic approach is to use the most appropriate, cost-effective, and highest-impact way to encourage and support all taxpayers in complying with their obligations.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

lord macpherson of earl's court: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the receipts from stamp duty land tax on residential properties sold for over £1 million in each year from 2013–14 to 2018–19.

lord agnew of oulton: The table below summarises the amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) paid on residential properties valued over £1 million. Tax yearStamp Duty Land Tax (£million)2013/141,8102014/152,1552015/162,8202016/172,5302017/182,8452018/192,625

Sanitary Protection: VAT

baroness penn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to remove the application of VAT to tampons at the end of the transition period of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU; and if the application of VAT is to be discontinued, what plans they have to ensure that support to projects currently funded by the Tampon Tax Fund continues.

lord agnew of oulton: The Government will replace the 5% reduced rate of VAT with a zero rate as soon as it is legally able to do so. It has also committed to continue to fund the Tampon Tax Fund until the UK is legally able to apply the zero rate. As such the Tampon Tax Fund, in its current form, will eventually come to an end. The most recent funding round allows organisations to use up to 10% of their grant money to build their sustainability.